During a joint session of the legislature kicking off the special session, Governor John Bel Edwards called on lawmakers to raise enough revenue to reduce cuts to state services. Jeff Palermo has more…
West Monroe native and former-astronaut Jim Halsell has been charged with murder after a fatal crash in Alabama took the life of two young girls. 11-year-old Niomi James and 13-year-old Jayla Parler were ejected from the vehicle and died when Halsell crashed into their vehicle. Two adults were also injured.
Several lawmakers are upset after they failed to approve the construction budget for next fiscal year. It will be taken up again in the special session, but Marrero Representative Patrick Connick says it should have been done in the regular session…
The construction budget funds road projects, repairs to public buildings and improvement to state parks.
The state Department of Environmental Quality has resumed mercury testing in public waterways after the program was halted in 2008 because of budget cuts. DEQ environmental scientist Al Hindrichs says mercury poisoning can cause neurological damage, particularly in children, and it can lead to birth defects if consumed by pregnant women. He says they need to update some of the advisories in effect because some of them are as much as 14 years old.